Morning Chirps: Vanacker takes OHL goal lead, Predators & Oilers trade rumors

The Chicago Blackhawks hit the halfway mark of their season-long six-game road trip tonight when they play the Seattle Kraken. We’ll have a full game preview later today, after the team hits the ice, and some postgame thoughts once the game concludes.

Blackhawks Chirps

• The Blackhawks held practice in Seattle yesterday. Jason Dickinson missed another practice with his shoulder injury. It is doubtful that he’ll play tonight, but we’ll keep you updated with who is and isn’t on the ice for today’s morning skate.

• Frank and I climbed up to the Second Balcony last night, and the Dickinson injury was one of the many topics we covered, including the way the Rockford IceHogs have been put in position to succeed.

• Speaking of the IceHogs, they were swept in their weekend home-and-home series with the Grand Rapids Griffins with a 6-2 loss on Sunday. The Griffins are now a perfect 8-0-0 on the season. Adian Thompson (2) and Samuel Savoie (2) scored the goals. Kevin Korchinski picked up his eighth assist of the season, tying him with Nick Lardis for second on the team. He also had a season-high four shots on goal, after having five in his first eight games combined. The IceHogs have three games next weekend: a home-and-home series against the Milwaukee Admirals on Friday and Saturday before hosting the Iowa Wild on Sunday.

• Mareck Vanacker scored his OHL-leading 15th goal of the season in the Brantford Bulldogs’ 6-2 win over the Saginaw Spirit. Parker Holmes also had an assist in the win, his fourth of the year.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 3: Leo Lafrance, Ike Klingbeil, Edward Leier, and Doug Zmolek.

NHL Chirps

• The Vancouver Canucks, whom the Blackhawks will face on Wednesday, have been dealing with numerous injuries lately. So much so that, according to Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic, they have called the Nashville Predators about the availability of Steven Stamkos. It doesn’t matter if the Predators want to trade him or not; Stamkos has a full no-trade clause, so he’s not going anywhere unless he wants to.

• Elliotte Friedman reported that the Edmonton Oilers are getting some calls on defenseman Troy Stecher. General manager Stan Bowman will likely need to make some roster moves as Zach Hyman, Mattias Janmark, and Alec Regula are all coming back from injury in the next couple of weeks. With Hyman coming off LTIR, they will need to clear some cap space.

• The Toronto Maple Leafs placed defenseman Chris Tanev back on injured reserve. He was released from a Philadelphia hospital on Sunday morning and returned to Toronto. There has been no specific update on his injury or timeline for a return.

• The Anaheim Ducks are in first place of the Pacific Division for the first time since Dec. 18, 2021, by beating the New Jersey Devils 4-1. Leo Carlsson picked up an assist on the late empty-net goal to extend his point streak to a career-high six games.

• San Jose Sharks defenseman Sam Dickinson scored his first NHL goal in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

• New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer scored two goals in their 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The first overall pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to have a multi-goal game, beating Bobby Orr.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, Nov. 3: Lionel Hitchman, Gerry Ehman, Jim McKenzie, Matt Carkner, Pekka Rinne, Jay Harrison, and Mason Shaw.